The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

How has fly-tying changed in the past 50 years?  It's changed a great deal in the time Tim Flagler [43:55] and I have been practicing it, and I often get questions from people about what has changed over the years.  Tim and I discuss the way information was shared, what hackle was like back then, innovations like beads and synthetic materials and chemically sharpened hooks, and advances in fly-tying tools.  Our main conclusion is that fly tiers today have never had it better, and it continues to evolve almost daily.   In the Fly Box this week, we have lots of rod questions and the usual queries that people can't seem to find an answer to anywhere else—and we're glad to help!  Some of this week's questions are: I am taking a rod-building class and want to know what rod I should add to my quiver (and he details the rods he already owns) I have heard that Florida snook fishing is best from shore during the summer, but also that the season is closed.  Can I still target them and release them? What do you know about fly fishing in Bermuda? Can I put a 9-weight line on my Clearwater 908? What Mirage LT reel should I put on my 11-foot Blackout rod? Are there any introduced cutthroat populations in the eastern US? For fishing from a float tube for brook trout in Maine, should I get a 10-foot 3-weight or 4-weight rod? Would it be bad to wear tick repellent when fishing?  Will it harm aquatic life? Why do  reel manufacturers put the drag adjustment on the opposite side of the reel handle?  I find it cumbersome to adjust my drag. How will warm springs in my river affect bass behavior and feeding? What is the minimum length of rod you recommend for most trout streams, other than small streams? How do stocked spring creeks in Missouri compare to Colorado rivers? Where can my friends and I find a good fly-fishing coach? What clothing, equipment, and flies should I take for a bonefishing trip to the Turks & Caicos?  I am new to New England and have been frustrated with high water conditions.  What can I do to have more success in high water?

We frequently discuss water temperature in regard to trout fishing but you seldom hear much about how water temperature affects popular fly-rod fish like bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish, striped bass, and bluefish.  Yet the water on the flats can vary dramatically depending on local weather patterns and tides, which will in turn affect where the fish move to and how actively they feed.  Learn from Bonefish Tarpon Trust's science director Aaron Adams [51:35] (also a superb fly fisher) on the science of water temperature and saltwater species.   In the Fly Box this week we have a great selection of questions, tips, and rants from listeners, including:   Is it appropriate to tip a guide when he or she runs a group class at a fly shop? What kind of footwear do you use when blue lining when you are wet wading? Does monofilament have a shelf life? Is a fiberglass rod a viable option for carp, bass, or bonefish? Has Tom developed any new insights on carp fishing in 2023? My sister harvested a moose.  What flies can I tie with moose hair? I've often had good fishing before a thunderstorm but not after.  Is there any validity to this observation? A mild rant from a listener who does not like to chat on the water with other anglers.  And a less mild rant about anglers who invade his space. Can I turn my fly line around to the running line when I want to Euro nymph? How have developments in fly fishing changed the productivity of fly fishing in the last 100 years? Why am I not seeing many fish in rivers that run into reservoirs in the fall? How can I tell the difference between my nymphs ticking the bottom and a strike? A great tip from a listener on removing all of your backing and rinsing it at the end of a saltwater fly-fishing season. Should knots ever break? This fall I fished a river that was 18 to 24 inches deep and uniform without much structure.  I fished hard with various methods and didn't catch a thing.  How would you approach water like this?

This show on winter fly-fishing was originally posted on 28 January, 2011. Before we had interviews, the Flybox, or even call-ins, it was just Sir Tom rambling into a microphone.  Don't forget there are hundreds of shows from our archives that are freelly available on your podcast reader and at howtoflyfish.orvis.com.

Careful observation, active instead of passive, is the hallmark of a good fly fisher.  They pick up patterns by observing exactly where in the river a fish came from , or how it behaved when feeding, or what weather patterns preceded a particularly successful day.  Head guide Cliff Weisse [46:15] of Three Rivers Ranch in Warm River, Idaho tells us some things many fly fishers don't pay enough attention to, and thus lose the ability to improve their skills.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips, including: How many flies and leaders will I need for a single day of guided fishing in the Bahamas?  And what gear will I need that I would normally not take for a day of trout fishing? If I catch a trout from a small pool, should I assume the rest of the fish in that pool are spooked? When should I strip a fish in, and when should I get the line on the reel? My buddy and I lost 100% of the trout we hooked one day.  WE normally land most of them.  What did we do wrong? What flies will imitate shad, small rainbows, sculpins, and small brown trout? I fish a piece of water with lots of swirling eddies and have trouble with a normal hard strike indicator.  What should I use instead? How can I manage using multiple fly lines without buying a new reel or spool for each one? Is it OK for a guide to give me an unsolicited lecture on etiquette even though I never crowd anyone? If I only make casts at a maximum of 15 feet in a small stream, is there a special fly line I should be using? I read somewhere that the author uses "gel flotant on all my flies".  Am I missing something? How do you determine the shuck color on a Sparkle Dun? A great tip from a listener about using a "backing barrel" on a sighter leader when you have trouble seeing it. How can I avoid spooking smallmouth bass on a small, clear stream?

Originally Posted on March 3rd, 2023 Back in 2008 when I first began this podcast I had two dreams—that I would have my two literary heros, John McPhee and Thomas McGuane as guests (they are both passionate fly fishers). I was lucky enough to record a podcast with John in August of 2021 and this week's podcast is with Tom McGuane [44:36], author of 20 highly regarded novels, screenplays, collections of short stories, and what is in my opinion the finest book of fly-fishing essays ever written, The Longest Silence. Most people who interview Tom want to talk about his crazy days in Key West in the 1970s, , fishing for tarpon with Jim Harrison, Guy de la Valdene, Jimmy Buffet, and other notable characters. However, in the podcast we talk about what he is doing now—his fascination with small-stream trout fishing, why he would rather wade than fish from a boat, his opinion on guides who yell at their clients, and how to grow old gracefully and still continue to fish with a fly rod. It was a real honor to chat with him and I know you'll enjoy this very special podcast. In the Fly Box this week, we have some wonderful and thought-provoking questions and tips form listeners, including: What is that white rod that Pete Kutzer uses in your casting videos? Is there a written history of Orvis? What is the best reel lubricant, and how should I maintain my cork drag surface? Can dumbbell eyes damage fly rods? If so, what should I do to keep flies tied with them from hitting my rod? Do trout eat those little black and brown stoneflies that hatch during the winter and early spring?  Can you explain when I would use weighted flies vs. split shot vs. poly leaders when fishing nymphs? Can you compare the relative advantages of the 10 1/2-foot 3-weight and the 11-foot 3-weight Blackout rod? I saw people catching fish on nymphs. I tried exactly the same patterns and didn't catch anything. Why? I have a reel that takes a 9-weight line. Can I get an extra spool and put it on my 7-weight rod?

Todd Tanner [43:02] is a lifelong fly fisher and journalist and spent years as a guide on the Henry's Fork, one of the best (and toughest) dry-fly rivers in the world.  He also prefers not to fish nymphs.  Todd shares his 12 tips on improving your success with dry flies this week, and they are solid and helpful.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a great and varied selection of questions and tips from listeners, including: I don't see any brook or brown trout in the usual places this fall.  Are they all upstream spawning? Two great tips from a listener for beginning fly tiers. Is a 10-foot 4-weight a good rod for both Euro nymphing and dry-fly fishing? A great tip from a listener on how to prevent your dry fly from getting too soaked before retrieving it for the next cast. A listener makes the point that watershed-level stream restoration is often not possible. If my stream is stocked with rainbows, will I find them in other parts of the river system and will they survive? Can I use a less expensive spool of fluorocarbon spinning line instead of the expensive stuff sold for fly fishing? If I use only the tip of a CDC feather, can I use the remaining fibers for something else? Kudos from a listener on a wonderful experience he had in the Orvis retail store in Atlanta What kind of insects are most common in infertile streams? Is there a reason Orvis makes a 10 ½ foot and 11-foot H3 rod and not a 10-footer? A great rattlesnake story from a listener I found a whole bunch of trout rising in a seam and tried everything but could not catch them.  I tried all kinds of dries and nymphs and changed my tippet and my angle of approach.  What do you think the fish were eating? 

I get frequent questions from listeners on what I would recommend they read in fly-fishing literature, as there is so much out there it's tough to sort through it to find what's worth reading.  Michael Checchio [38:10] is a retired journalist and investigative reporter and a student of fly-fishing books, so we spend some time discussing what he feels are must-reads (or maybe just interesting reads) in the vast river of what has been written about fly fishing. Here is Michael's list:   Fiction A River Runs through It by Norman Maclean "Big Two-Hearted River" by Ernest Hemingway (short story) Ninety-Two in the Shade by Thomas McGuane The River Why by David James Duncan Non-fiction  The Longest Silence by Thomas McGuane The Angler's Coast and Dark Waters by Russell Chatham The Curtis Creek Manifesto by Sheridan Anderson "Hat Creek" and "Deeds Among the Steelhead" by Bill Barich (magazine articles; may be tough to find) The Spawning Run by William Humphrey Trout Bum by John Gierach "The Same River Twice" by David Quammen (published in Outside Magazine) "A Sporting Life" by Jim Harrison (magazine article, may be tough to find) My Story as Told by Water by David James Duncan In the Fly Box this week, we have lots of questions and tips, including: How do I know when to strip strike and when to trout strike? Do I really need to go barbless on small dry-fly hooks? How do I know what size material to use if I want to lengthen my leader? A great tip from a listener on learning to cast with your "off" hand A tip from a listener on wetting new tying materials befor you use them to see what color they will be Why do I only see larger wild brown trout in one section of a river I fish? How do I see my sighter in difficult lighting conditions? If I am fishing for stocked rainbows and grayling, where should I place my grayling fly—on the bottom or on the dropper? Should I use my 10-foot 7-weight Recon that I use for steelhead for streamer fishing from a boat for trout? What is the main difference between a Helios D and Helios F rod when fishing for bonefish? My bamboo ferrule only fits ¾ of the way to full engagement.  Is that OK? Why do I see steelhead smolt in my river but never chinook salmon smolt? Is there any way to get the bad smell off a bucktail? Why don't people fish bucktails much these days? Is there a way to tell a northern strain from a southern strain brook trout visually?

My guest this week is Chris Jordan [41:13], a scientist with NOAA who specializes in habitat restoration.  His view is that, in our arrogance, we've gotten habitat restoration projects all wrong most of the time.  We think we can engineer river systems to conform with what we think they should be, but rivers are dynamic and mostly unpredictable and that, whenever possible, we need to look at watershed solutions—helping rivers do the job with a lighter hand but a larger scope. Follow this link to learn more: https://www.restoringriverscapes.org   In the Fly Box this week we have a wide variety of interesting questions, including: Should I bother fishing carp flats when the water temperature is in the 50s and air temperature is in the 30s? Will brown trout live in warm water rivers some of the time?  Is it worth it to fish the mouths of cold-water tributaries for brown trout? You always say that trout prefer to be in water that is two-to four-feet deep to feed.  Yet I have caught my largest trout in pools that are 10-to 15-feet deep.  I'm confused. How does George Daniel attach his light nymphing leader to his fly line? I fish small streams with a 10-foot, 4-weight Recon rod.  I worry about spooking trout when my rod casts a shadow over the pool I'm fishing.  Should I go with a shorter rod? Some great suggestions from a listener about fishing with kids, and why we should make it more about building relationships and not always about catching fish. I consistently foul-hook trout when fishing multiple flies.  Am I striking too soon or too late, or striking too hard? If most people fish barbless flies, why don't manufacturers make more barbless hooks? Do states only stock trout in specific locations due to allocated quantities, or are there environmental factors in play? Can I use a 6-weight Bank Shot line on my 11-foot, 4-weight Euro rod to try two-handed casting? I have a friend who ties all my flies.  What should I get him as a thank-you gift? If I hook but lose a big lake-run rainbow, would it be possible to go back later in the day to try for it? I have a small brook trout stream on my property.  Should I put some trees in the river to help the fish? A listener suggests that although smallmouth bass don't need much habitat help from us, they grow slowly so handling them with care is important if you want a trophy smallmouth fishery.

Besides breaking your fly rod in those boring old ways like car doors or ceiling fans, there are other, less obvious ways and most of them are preventable as well.  This week I chat with Charlie Robinton [49:00], rod repair expert on the Orvis Outfitter Team, and we'll explore other ways fly rods are broken—including some unusual ways they have been broken over the years, thanks to stories from our terrific rod repair team.  True, if you break an Orvis rod we can usually have it back to you in about five days—but a broken rod is still not a fun way to start (or end) a fishing trip.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some perplexing questions, tips from listeners, and some listeners who take exception to some of the things I've said in the past, including: Where can I take my sons and granddaughter on Route 20 in Idaho where they can easily catch trout? What is a good rod manufacturer? A listener describes a perplexing day on a difficult river and analyzes his day and asks Tom if he agrees. Do you take all of your fly boxes when you fish or do you determine what you will likely need for the day?  And where do you put your lunch, sunscreen, and raincoat? Last year I had great luck for pre-spawn brown trout and this year I can't hook them.  Should I keep trying different streamer patterns? A caution from a listener on serious reactions to UV resins A suggestion from a listener on sliding beads down your leader if you want to make any nymph a bead head. A listener says he has never had fly-tying threads weaken over time and disagrees with my suggestion that they can weaken after a few years. Are beaded or non-beaded flies more successful? How can I use adhesives to keep the dumbbell eyes on my Clouser Minnows from rotating? You have said trout eyes are designed to look up.  When I catch trout they are always looking down.  Why? You recommend using a throat pump.  But what good does it do you when you have already caught a fish?  And then you take their food away? Does gel flotant on a hook have a negative effect?

My guest this week is the great George Daniel [42:00], who is always pushing the envelope, evolving and experimenting.  He tells us why he uses a 10-foot fly rod for nearly all of his trout fishing, even in smaller streams and he also introduces a new nymphing technique he has been experimenting with.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a great variety of questions and tips, including: Can I use a poly leader in salt water for stripers? Why do I find fewer and smaller fish in low water conditions later in the season? How often do you find yourself adjusting indicator depth in medium and large rivers? What should I do with the reject flies from my tying bench? Is a bow-and-arrow cast stealthier than a roll cast in small streams? I see large crayfish in a stream.  Why don't I see smaller crayfish? Are fiberglass rods more sensitive than graphite rods? Do creek chubs compete with brown trout? What can I do to keep the wings on my parachute flies at 90 degrees once I start fishing them? I found I could double haul better with some Orvis rods I tried than with entry level rods I have.  Is it simply the difference between a premium rod and my current lower level rods? I keep breaking off coho salmon.  What could I be doing wrong? Can I fish egg and worm patterns and streamers with my 7-foot, 4-weight rod? A tip from a listener—if you want to find out where trout live in a particular river, observe them from a bridge. Is there an organization devoted specifically to smallmouth bass?